Amunds, Parisot oppose gas tax hike

Published: Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 05:55 PM.

After almost four weeks of debate, Okaloosa County commissioners seem poised to vote down any bid to raise the local gasoline tax.

Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Dave Parisot say they won’t vote for an increase at this time.

“I’ll just put it out there. Unless something changes my mind, I’m not going to support it,” Amunds said at Tuesday’s commission meeting in Crestview.

Parisot agreed.

“I’m not going to support an increase in the local option gas tax,” he said.

Parisot added that a better idea is to charge local utilities a franchise fee to use public rights of way.

Commissioners made their comments during a discussion about Commissioner Nathan Boyles’ recent proposal to raise the gas tax by 3 cents and dedicate the revenue to 10 specific road projects across Okaloosa County.

Local gas tax revenue can be used only for road work.

“I am not a proponent of taxes, but I am a proponent of paying for the services and infrastructure we all use,” Boyles said.

Under Florida law, counties are authorized to levy up to 12 cents per gallon on fuel. Okaloosa now charges 7 cents.

Boyles said his proposal is based on the idea that “everybody pitches in and we pay for the things that we consume.”

For years the county has consistently “underfunded” its transportation needs, which now have grown critical, he added.

Under Boyles’ plan, a 3-cent increase would pro-vide the county with about $8.2 million for road projects over the next five years.

“What I attempted to do was … identify some of the most critical projects across the county,” he said.

Boyles later urged the board to act now instead of leaving the problem for residents to deal with — and pay for — in the future.

The projects include paving Fairchild Road in Crestview and rebuilding Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach.

Boyles’ only firm support came from Commissioner Wayne Harris, who has supported a gas tax hike since he was elected in 2008.

“It’s not a north issue or a south issue,” Harris said. “It’s an Okaloosa County issue. We have a lot of roads in terrible disrepair and we’re doing patchwork on it.”

Harris said he supports levying the entire 5 cents available to the county.

“I think it has to be for a set amount of time, and anything we do has to be definitive for specific projects,” he said.

But with two commissioners opposed to raising the gas tax, any proposal would fall short of a supermajority — or four votes — required for approval.

The gas tax debate drew only a handful of residents to the meeting, but they were overwhelmingly opposed to any increase.

Commissioners have agreed to continue discussing the issue as they wait for local municipalities to weigh in on the idea. The board sent letters to the county’s nine cities and towns to seek their input.

Several city leaders, including those from Fort Walton Beach, Mary Esther and Destin, have said they are against an increase. The Destin City Council passed a resolution Monday opposing a gas tax hike.

If county commissioners decide to levy an extra gas tax, it would have to be approved by July 1 to take effect Jan. 1, 2014.

After almost four weeks of debate, Okaloosa County commissioners seem poised to vote down any bid to raise the local gasoline tax.

Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Dave Parisot say they won’t vote for an increase at this time.

“I’ll just put it out there. Unless something changes my mind, I’m not going to support it,” Amunds said at Tuesday’s commission meeting in Crestview.

Parisot agreed.

“I’m not going to support an increase in the local option gas tax,” he said.

Parisot added that a better idea is to charge local utilities a franchise fee to use public rights of way.

Commissioners made their comments during a discussion about Commissioner Nathan Boyles’ recent proposal to raise the gas tax by 3 cents and dedicate the revenue to 10 specific road projects across Okaloosa County.

Local gas tax revenue can be used only for road work.

“I am not a proponent of taxes, but I am a proponent of paying for the services and infrastructure we all use,” Boyles said.

Under Florida law, counties are authorized to levy up to 12 cents per gallon on fuel. Okaloosa now charges 7 cents.

Boyles said his proposal is based on the idea that “everybody pitches in and we pay for the things that we consume.”

For years the county has consistently “underfunded” its transportation needs, which now have grown critical, he added.

Under Boyles’ plan, a 3-cent increase would pro-vide the county with about $8.2 million for road projects over the next five years.

“What I attempted to do was … identify some of the most critical projects across the county,” he said.

Boyles later urged the board to act now instead of leaving the problem for residents to deal with — and pay for — in the future.

The projects include paving Fairchild Road in Crestview and rebuilding Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Walton Beach.

Boyles’ only firm support came from Commissioner Wayne Harris, who has supported a gas tax hike since he was elected in 2008.

“It’s not a north issue or a south issue,” Harris said. “It’s an Okaloosa County issue. We have a lot of roads in terrible disrepair and we’re doing patchwork on it.”

Harris said he supports levying the entire 5 cents available to the county.

“I think it has to be for a set amount of time, and anything we do has to be definitive for specific projects,” he said.

But with two commissioners opposed to raising the gas tax, any proposal would fall short of a supermajority — or four votes — required for approval.

The gas tax debate drew only a handful of residents to the meeting, but they were overwhelmingly opposed to any increase.

Commissioners have agreed to continue discussing the issue as they wait for local municipalities to weigh in on the idea. The board sent letters to the county’s nine cities and towns to seek their input.

Several city leaders, including those from Fort Walton Beach, Mary Esther and Destin, have said they are against an increase. The Destin City Council passed a resolution Monday opposing a gas tax hike.

If county commissioners decide to levy an extra gas tax, it would have to be approved by July 1 to take effect Jan. 1, 2014.